


Aburakoji Affair

by Legume_Shadow



Series: Echoes: A Peacemaker Kurogane/Rurouni Kenshin Crossover [13]
Category: Peacemaker Kurogane, Rurouni Kenshin
Genre: Alternate Universe - Historical, Author Loves Writing the Meiji Revolution, Gen, Saitou Took Over my Series!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-11
Updated: 2012-12-11
Packaged: 2017-12-28 06:38:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,568
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/988910
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Legume_Shadow/pseuds/Legume_Shadow
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Shogun has withdrawn all of his forces from Kyoto to prevent the city from falling into bloodshed.  With that withdrawal, the Shinsengumi too, have left, but they are still investigating conspiracies and rooting out traitors and this time, their target is Itou Kashitarou.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> First Publishing: December 2012. All copyrights apply to the appropriate parties and no profit is being made from this fanwork.

**Part 10: Aburakoji Affair**

**Chapter 10.0**

_Year: December 10_ _th_ _– 13_ _th_ _, 1867_

 

_December 10_ _th_ _…evening…_

 

“Sir, Sakamoto Ryouma was assassinated.”

Susumu heard Kondou grunt in acknowledgement as he looked up slightly from his kneeling bow to see that the Shinsengumi Commander had a very concerned look on his face. “Who has taken the credit for the assassination?” the commander quietly asked after a few minutes of silence.

“No one has yet, sir,” he truthfully answered. “However, there are many strong rumors swirling around that blame you as the one who ordered the assassination.”

“Thank you, Yamazaki,” the commander said after a few more minutes of pensive silence. “You are dismissed.”

“Yes, sir,” he answered before giving a quick bow and left the commander’s room, stepping back out into the chilly winter air of Fushimi.

It had only been a few weeks since the order for all forces to withdraw from Kyoto in peace had been given, as the Shogun had abdicated power to the Emperor in an attempt to quell the small skirmishes that had started to take place near the southern outskirts of the city. However, many of the Shinsengumi felt that even though the Shogun had did what he had done out of necessity to spare Kyoto the bloody battlefield it would have become in only a few short weeks, the Emperor was too ingrained in the ideals of _sonno joi_ and in the rebels’ cause. Even Susumu himself felt that the Emperor was only a puppet being used by the rebels’ leaders.

They, the Shinsengumi had withdrawn to just outside of Kyoto, in Fushimi, watching and waiting for the rebels to respond to the Shogun’s deference. However, even though they no longer had a presence in the city, Kondou and Hijikata had not stopped the Shinsengumi’s duties to the Shogun. Since the abrupt departure of former military advisor, Itou Kashitarou and his Goryoueji group which saw more than half of the Shinsengumi members leave, rumors had been flying back and forth about not only the Goryoueji group, but also many other groups that were under the employ of the Shogunate. Rumors of defection, conspiracy, and even plots of assassination between groups had engulfed almost all of Kyoto and her surrounding areas, including Fushimi when the Shogun had announced his abdication of power. The Shinsengumi themselves were not immune to the rumors either, and thus, he and his fellow shinobi had been sent out almost daily to gather information. Goodwill patrols had also been sent out daily in the small town they had settled in, to keep the villagers and inhabitants from fearing them.

He breathed deeply, letting the crisp, cold air fill his lungs to awaken him slightly before breathing back out. First winter snow had not yet fallen yet, but he could smell it in the air – it was coming. As he walked away from the commander’s room, he saw that more than a few rooms were still lighted, and their inhabitants still awake…and a bit rowdy. He turned a few more corners until he came upon a fairly open area in the compound where the Shinsengumi were currently staying at.

He had heard the dull thunk of throwing knives embed themselves into hay before he had turned a particular corner and his assumption was correct – Aya was standing in the open area, throwing knives at a practice dummy made of straw. Only the sliver of moonlight illuminated the area, and highlighted the glint of metal as knives flew from her right hand and into the dummy. To any other normal person, Aya, along with the dummy and details of the area would have been hard to see, but Susumu had no problem seeing details in the dark.

She stopped and looked up at him as he descended the walkway and walked across the cold, hard ground, approaching her. He saw her roll her right shoulder a bit, and knew that the wound that she had sustained a couple of months back was still not fully healed. It was most likely aching, given just how many slits of knives that had been formerly embedded in the dummy there were.

“Susumu,” she greeted in an emotionless tone.

“Aya. How is it?” he asked, gesturing to her shoulder as he stopped near her.

“Doesn’t hurt,” she curtly said. “Just a damn ache if I use it too much.”

“It’s still healing,” he pointed out. “You shouldn’t over work it too much.”

“If I don’t, it goes out of shape and I won’t be able to aim well enough,” she stated, returning her attention to the dummy as she raised a knife with her right hand and paused for a second before letting the blade fly.

“You’ve hit the dummy’s arteries and veins quite a bit already,” he said, watching the knife embed itself into the jugular of the dummy. “Perhaps—“

“Aya-nee! Susumu!” the shout of Tetsu interrupted anything else he was about to medically recommend Aya to not do to further injure her slowly-healing wound.

Susumu sighed and turned as he saw Tetsu spot the two of them and watched the red-headed page jog over, his breath quite visible even in the sliver of moonlight for illumination. “Aya-nee,” Tetsu said as he stopped before them, breathing a bit heavily for such a short jog. “Kondou-san and Hijikata-san are looking for you.”

“Very well,” the kunoichi said, sheathing the rest of her knives into her belt before walking over to the dummy and yanked out the knives embedded in the hay and walked away without another word to them.

Susumu sniffed the air a bit, as he smelled something unusual and looked over at the young page – Tetsu looked a bit more flushed than the cold would make someone’s skin. “Have you been drinking?” he asked.

“Just a little,” his friend replied with a cheeky grin. “It’s a very good thing I was told by Okita-san when he stopped by that the _fukuchou_ had an errand for me to run before I got too drunk. You should come join us. We’re telling stories about our lives before we joined the Shinsengumi. Sake makes me a lot warmer…and it’s a lot better than just trying to hide under cold covers or standing out here like a frozen stick in a pond.”

“I’ll pass,” he said, giving his friend a mild look.

“Spoil sport,” Tetsu said before giving him another slightly tipsy grin and ran back to the housing quarters.

“Hey brat,” he called out, just as Tetsu clambered up to the walkway, causing the young page to turn. “Maybe next time.”

“I’ll hold you to that, Susumu!”

* * *

“Your work throughout the weeks at the Aburakoji Inn has been good and they’re used to your presence now. Given the nature of the Goryoueji group, we’re adding to your tasks and assigning you the investigation into who exactly assassinated Sakamoto Ryouma and why there are very strong rumors that blame Kondou- _kyokuchou_ for the deed,” Hijikata stated.

“Yes, sir,” Aya said, giving a nod in acknowledgement.

“There is also a message we need you to pass onto Saitou-san,” Kondou said, pushing a small folded piece of paper toward the kunoichi who took it and pocketed it. “Should the message be read by any others, I expect you to kill them.”

“I understand, sir.”

* * *

_December 11_ _th_ _…morning…_

 

“Going out on assignment again?” Susumu heard Tetsu say as he turned slightly to see his friend carrying a rather large amount of dirty clothing that needed to be washed.

“Yeah,” he said, giving him a faint grin. Aya had already left in the middle of the night again for her recurring assignment, and Kai was not yet back from collecting information from Okina about Kyoto in general. The Kyoto Oniwabanshuu faction had remained in the city, but had kept a very low profile, not wanting to draw attention to themselves, though however, they were still collecting information. Kai had been sent a day ago to the city and retrieve the weekly packet of information and to see if the situation in the city was calm as it had been for the past few weeks since the withdrawal of the Shogun and his various forces.

“Be careful,” Tetsu suddenly said, his expression turning serious.

“Getting all sentimental, kid?” he teased, suddenly feeling a bit uncomfortable.

“I hear that it’s dangerous on the roads and south of Kyoto right now,” Tetsu quietly said. “I don’t want you, Kai-nii, or Aya-nee to end up like Ayu-nee.”

The uncomfortable feeling died and was replaced by warmth as his friend’s words touched him. He closed his eyes and shook his head a bit before opening them and said, “Don’t worry kid. We’ll be okay.” He pointed to the pile of rancid-smelling clothing that his friend was holding and said, “However, you’ll have more immediate things to worry about if you keep holding that…like your sense of smell for one.”

Tetsu made a face, miming a sudden upright death as he said, “I already lost my sense of smell to the cold…not like its going to do me any good now a days since my nose is all stuffed up…”

“Whatever,” he said, shaking his head slightly. “I’ll see you later, okay?”

“See you!”

* * *

_December 12_ _th_ _…evening…_

 

Saitou briefly stared at the sake that sloshed slightly in the shallow drinking cup he was holding as the droning of Itou Kashitarou’s speech towards the men gathered in the room came to a close and a rousing cheer was shouted. With Hijikata's abrupt departure to Ibaraki with a few of what was left of the Shinsengumi units, the order that he had received earlier in the day had come straight from Kondou via Matsumoto, who had been 'working' as a part-time maid here at Aburakoji. He was sure the order had been written without Hijikata's knowledge.

“Saitou-san,” the smooth voice of Itou said to him, calling him out of his reverie, as he looked up. “Are you not happy?”

“I am, Itou-dono,” he replied. “I've just had a little too much to drink.” He raised his drinking cup slightly in a shaky fashion that was not entirely fake to demonstrate his inebriated state. “I will be retiring for the rest of the night. If you will excuse me.”

He stood up, affecting a slight wobble in his steps as he left the dining area and trudged back up the stairs to his room. However, as he passed by Toudou's room, he heard something strange...

“I know who you are. You should leave the Shinsengumi, Aya,” he heard Toudou's fierce whisper as he leaned slightly against the partition and quietly listened in.

“Aya?” he heard the kunoichi affect a questioning tone in her disguise that carried an Osaka-accent. “Who is Aya, sir?”

“Don't play games with me, Aya,” Toudou said with a touch of anger in his tone. “I know why you've been here for the last few months. I know that you're bringing back information to Kondou and Hijikata. You should leave them.”

“I apologize, sir, but I do not know what you are talking about. If you would please excuse me, I must go back down to the kitchens. The master of the inn would have my hide if he knew that I was idling and talking to you,” Saitou heard the kunoichi protest in quite a convincing tone.

“Aya, please,” the former captain begged, “Please leave them. I don't want you to get hurt.”

“I'm sorry, sir,” Matsumoto maintained her accent and relative confusion as he heard a shuffle in the room. “I--”

Whatever else she was going to say it ended up in a squeak that was quickly muffled, and Saitou could not help but be slightly alarmed. However, that alarm turned into annoyance as he heard a thump on the tatami-mat-covered ground along with the sounds of fabric being loosened. The muffled cries of Matsumoto protesting was barely heard through the partition as he realized what was happening. He shook his head slightly and after a few moments, he decided to intervene, though it was more for the fact that he hated seeing women being taken advantage of without consenting to it than for Matsumoto's sake. He at least had some honor with regards to women...at least more than the love-sick fool, Toudou.

He quietly slid open the partition – Toudou was too occupied to notice – and swiftly incapacitated the man with a few well-placed blows, rendering the man unconscious.

“Why did you not defend yourself, kunoichi?” he curtly asked as Matsumoto crawled out from underneath the unconscious man. He turned his head slightly away to give Matsumoto a semblance of privacy to gather her scattered clothing to relieve herself of her nakedness.

“I was going to,” she stated as he heard her put her clothes back on. “You interfered.” In a more flippant but still coldly uncaring tone, she said, “No matter. He'll not know that it was you and will most likely assume that it was I who applied the pressure points.”

He saw her walk past him and pick up a bottle near the entrance before bringing it back and poured sake all over Toudou. “Good thing he's quite the alcoholic,” he heard her mutter. A minute after she placed the nearly empty sake bottle down, she asked him, “Is Itou planning a strike against the Shinsengumi, Saitou?”

“I heard rumors of it, though it was he who ordered Sakamoto Ryouma killed and the blame to be placed on Kondou,” he stated, glancing out into the hall to ensure that no one was dropping in on the conversation.

“Can you get me proof?” she asked.

“I'll get it to you by tomorrow night.”

 

~*~*~*~


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 10.1**

_December 13_ _th_ _…evening…_

 

What had happened the night before between Toudou and Matsumoto stayed secret, but Saitou was certain that Itou had already been suspicious even before anything had happened. He knew that Itou was no idiot, and thus it had taken him some very creative thinking to find the proof from Itou's room where he kept journals and ledgers that Matsumoto had requested. Saitou had also received a new set of orders when Matsumoto showed up for work this morning, and this time, he was quite sure that Kondou had made the decision on his own without even trying to consult any of the captains who had not gone off with Hijikata to Ibaraki.

“Where are they going?” Saitou heard Toudou ask as the younger man looked around, seeing several of the members of their group suddenly rise from their seats and leave.

“They will be escorting a certain _lark_ of ours home,” Itou lightly said. “It’s much too cold and dangerous for a single young woman such as our _faithful_ server who works for the inn to be walking home each night without an escort to see her home safely.”

“I’d like to help—“ Toudou began, but a sudden slam of the western-styled wine glass that Itou had been holding onto the wooden table stopped the younger man from getting completely up. The force in which Itou had slammed the glass onto the table caused the red liquid to spill onto the table. Saitou merely gave it a disdainful look before returning his attention to Itou.

“Please stay, Toudou-san,” Itou said, smiling, though the tone of his voice contained an edge that told those around that it was not a request but a command. “Your presence is required at this table.”

Saitou could not help but smirk at the slightly fearful look that flashed across Toudou’s face before the young man stiffly sat down. His assumption was proven correct – Itou had finally pieced together some suspicions about the Aburakoji's part-time maid. Saitou knew that his own presence was not needed, but for the sake of appearances, he stayed. He had his own mission and helping the ‘maid’ escape her soon-to-be stalkers as she reported back to her masters had not been a part of the orders he had been given. The wolves of Mibu were about to move soon, and he needed to keep himself ingratiated to Itou in order to complete his part of the mission that had started nearly three years ago.

* * *

“Gah! Stop stacking logs on top of me!”

“You said that you wanted to get stronger, so therefore, you need to carry more logs!” Kai said, stacking yet another log on top of the one he had just placed on the pile in Tetsu’s arms as the three of them entered the compound, arms full of logs from the nearby woodshed that would be burned for the remainder of the evening.

“Yeah, but now I’m loosing my balance, Kai-nii!” Susumu heard Tetsu say as he saw the young page sway a bit before finding his footing and righting himself.

“See,” Kai answered, “there you go. You learned how to balance yourself with a lot of weight.”

“Thanks everyone, for all of your hard work,” Okita said as the three of them reached the foot of the walkway and stacked the logs in a small, neat pile of three rows and six columns. Those who needed the wood to burn in their own little areas for the rest of the night would be able to pick it straight from this place without having to travel very far.

“Okita-san! Nagakura-san!” Tetsu said, grinning as the three of them looked up to see both the First and Second Unit Captains in full Shinsengumi uniform approach them.

“Hey, now we’re not going to freeze our butts off like we did last night!” Susumu heard Nagakura say in a good-natured tone. It was only because of the previous night that there had not been enough logs stacked in the area, hence Susumu and Kai helping Tetsu carry a bunch of them so that they would have a stack sooner than having Tetsu run back and forth between the wood shed and the compound, which was a few minutes down the road.

“On patrol?” Tetsu asked as he ran up to them.

“Yep,” Nagakura said. “We’ve just got one more round to do before we’re finished for the night. We’re just stopping by for some water and warm ourselves up a little more before we head back out.”

“Someone help!” the cry of an old man was heard as all gazes were drawn towards the entrance of the compound. Susumu saw an old man being held back by the two Shinsengumi members standing guard at the entrance. “Its bad, its really bad,” the old man was babbling. “There are at least seven of them surrounding the poor maid from Aburakoji on the bridge connecting Sanjo and Miura streets! I don’t know what she did, but I think they’re going to kill her!”

_No!_ Susumu thought as he froze at the old man’s words. _Not like three years ago!_

Kai was more vocal and swore before saying, “She’s not armed, is she?”

“She can’t be,” he numbly answered. “It would completely blow her cover.”

The piercing whistles from both Nagakura and Okita was what sprung all of them into action as both he and Kai sprinted from the entrance towards their quarters as fast as they could while the patrol units assembled and quickly marched out of the compound. As soon as Susumu reached his quarters, he flung the partition open and quickly dressed himself in his shinobi outfit, ignoring the cold that had blew into the once-warm room. Snatching up his weapons, he ran back out, just as Kai joined him. As the two of them ran towards the entrance and leapt up onto the outer wall and bounded onto the rooftops, he noticed that Kai was carrying an additional weapon.

“Its her wakizashi,” Kai said, having noticed his questioning look, as they tore through the rooftops, headed towards the bridge between the two streets that the old man had said the incident was about to take place.

He merely nodded – neither of them knew what they would find when they got there or if Aya was capable of wielding a weapon. A larger weapon that they could potentially be able to throw at for Aya to use was preferable, for smaller throwing knives would be easily intercepted. He glanced down below to see the twelve Shinsengumi members streaming towards the same destination, but due to the winding and weaving they had to take through streets and alleyways, their pace was slower than the two shinobi on the rooftops. Wordlessly, both he and Kai increased their speed.

Susumu pulled out his throwing knives as soon as they reached the edge of the rooftops lining the irrigation stream that cut through the area and saw the scene before them. Aya was completely surrounded, and four of them were already laying face-down, most likely dead or knocked out, brought down by the unarmed combat skills Aya had as a shinobi. He counted twelve that were still alive, and all of them had their swords drawn. Both he and Kai released their throwing knives almost at the same time, and the rain of sharp, small metal blades managed to cut down at least two more men before the men closest to the recently killed turned to see who had intruded upon their ‘fun’.

In the split-second opening they had made, Kai threw the wakizashi across the heads of the men surrounding Aya, and as the two of them landed on the hard ground, Aya caught it. The thunderous sound of the Shinsengumi arriving gave the men on the bridge a pause and that was all the opening Susumu saw that Aya needed. He and Kai charged straight into the fray, unsheathing their short blades, just as Aya drew the wakizashi in a tight arc that caught one of her closest attackers’ right in his stomach, gutting him. The three of them made very short work of at least three of the remaining nine before the Shinsengumi overtook and engaged the rest.

The brutally vicious and efficient way that the twelve members of the First and Second Units dispatched the remaining attacking men gave Susumu a pause as he watched them cut down the men with practiced ease. He slowed his breathing down as the last of the nine remaining men was killed – they had averted a tragic repeat of what had happened over three years ago.

Glancing over, he saw that though Kai was breathing hard, there was a satisfied smile on his face, while Aya had flicked the blood off her blade with a twitch of her wrist before sheathing it and discreetly gave it back to Kai. In the dimness of the moonlight, even with torches and lanterns around, Susumu noted that outwardly, Aya looked none the worse for wear, but there was something nagging inside of him that made him a bit more concerned about her than what she had just faced.

“Are you all right, miss?” he heard Nagakura ask as the Second Unit Captain approached them, though he knew the question was directed more at Aya than at either he or Kai. There was a small splash of blood on the left-sleeve of the short-stature captain’s uniform, and Susumu noted that it was not from any wound on the captain – the blood was from one of the men the captain had killed.

“Yes,” she answered in her customary no-nonsense fashion, but then softened her tone a bit. “Thank you for the assistance…and rescue.” Susumu could not tell if she was truly relieved or if that was all an act.

“Nagakura-san,” Susumu heard Okita say as he saw the First Unit Captain approach the small group, with a couple of thick streaks of blood dripping slightly from the front of the captain’s uniform. Again, Susumu could tell that they were not from any wounds and had been splattered onto the captain when he had killed one or two of the men. “Would you kindly escort the maid here back to her home? I will direct the clean up here and send any prisoners back with my unit.”

“Yep,” Nagakura replied in a laid-back tone. “Will do. I’ll take two of my men with me.” He looked towards Kai and Susumu and asked, “You guys coming or what?”

Both he and Kai glanced over at Okita who shook his head slightly, indicating that he did not need their help with the clean up of the dead bodies that littered the bridge. “We’re coming,” he told Nagakura. There were so many words that Susumu knew that could not be said between friends and comrades in such an open space, hence the formality of the whole situation – even though none of the shinobi had seen any evidence of any other rebel-allied shinobi around the area, that did not mean that ordinary citizens who lived here could be listening in and passing along information.

“All right, miss,” Nagakura said after a few moments as he picked two of the men he commanded in the Second Unit, “I’m Nagakura Shinpachi and all five of us will be your escort back to your home. I promise that we won’t be like those others who tried to attack you. We’re honorable samurai under the employ of the Shogun and Emperor. Let’s get you home safe and sound.”

Aya, playing her part of a maid, mutely nodded. The six of them left, keeping their pace hurried, but not as fast as they normally would have traveled to prevent suspicions from being aroused by any who may have been watching them. Kai kept close to Aya while he, Susumu brought up the rear, with Nagakura taking point and the other two members of the Second Unit walking near Aya.

As soon as they were clear of the cluster of houses in the heart of the small town, and out near the farmlands, headed towards the area where the Shinsengumi were housed, Aya said, “We need to hurry, there’s information that Kondo- _kyokuchou_ needs to read and hear.” They increased their pace to a nearly out right run, though with what Aya was dressed in, an inn worker’s kimono, the run was paced so that she was still included within the group.

Their arrival at the compound was greeted with more than a few relieved looks by those Shinsengumi who had experienced what had happened over three years ago, but more than half of what remained of the Shinsengumi since the departure of Itou’s breakaway group gave their compatriots half-confused looks. Susumu watched as Aya left them without another word and headed off to where the commander’s room was.

“You guys saved her!” he heard Tetsu exclaim with happiness as he turned slightly and saw the lanky, tall page jog towards him and Kai before stopping in front of them.

Susumu could not help but smile. _Sister, I hope you are doing well…and I hope you’re proud of us…we saved our shinobi sister from a fate similar to yours._

He could almost feel the ghost of an approval at the thoughts he had said in his mind as a winter’s night breeze swept across the compound, carrying a few fallen leaves with it.

* * *

“These are but some of the documents that Saitou- _kumichou_ had found earlier tonight. I believe that they contain the proof that was requested,” Aya said, taking out the packet of folded pieces of paper that had been stuffed on the inside of her Aburakoji working kimono. She handed it to Kondou who took it and read it through with occasionally a disapproving grunt that accompanied his frown.

“It seems that our investigation into the Goryoueji group has garnered enough suspicion that we will have to take action to arrest or kill all those traitors at Aburakoji,” Kondou said more to himself than to her, as he put the leaflets of paper down on his desk after he was done. He shuffled the papers on the desk before looking up at her again and asked, “Are you fit to fight, Matsumoto?”

“I am,” she replied, even though she could still feel the acute aches of the brief, unarmed fight she had just engaged in.

“Good,” the commander said. “I want you, Yamazaki, and Shimada to go back to Aburakoji and watch for activities. We will be moving in tonight and all three of you have orders to kill if the traitors resist arrest.”

“Understood, sir,” she said, nodding. A late night raid would mean that those in the Goryoueji group would have no forewarning when the Shinsengumi struck, for they were most likely still waiting for their compatriots who had tried to kill her at the bridge to return. Had they chosen to wait until the morning, then someone in the group would have sensed something amiss and their chance to arrest the traitors lost.

* * *

“We’ve got an assignment. Let’s go,” the brisk, no-nonsense voice of Aya said from behind the two of them as they watched the three prisoners who had merely been knocked out stumble into the compound, led by two members of the First Unit.

Susumu turned slightly to see Aya dressed in her black shinobi uniform, armed to the teeth as they were too, and gave her a curt nod. The three of them silently left, and while during the run through the rooftops, she explained the assignment, saying, “We’re to monitor activities at Aburakoji. The Shinsengumi will be making the arrests tonight. We have kill orders if any of them try to flee the inn.”

_Ikedaya, all over again_ , Susumu thought to himself.

“How many units are mobilizing for this?” Kai asked, his voice a bit breathless from running.

“I believe all that have not gone with the _fukuchou_ to Ibaraki.”

_Just a bit more brutal than Ikedaya then_ …

* * *

Saitou smiled as he roused himself from sleep and snapped his eyes open. He could smell _blood_ and the hunger that accompanied it. It was time, and without a sound, he threw the blankets off and quickly dressed himself. Opening the western-styled drawer that was in his room, he found it to be empty, which he expected it to be, for he had refused to store any of the spare clothes he had brought with him in such a strange contraption. However, it was also the perfect place for him to hide the one item that he needed to have kept hidden for a very long time.

The drawer that he had opened had a very tiny catch at one of the corners and in the near-darkness, only illuminated by the tiny sliver of moonlight, he touched the catch and hear a very soft click. Sliding a portion of the bottom of the drawer open, he opened the small hidden storage area and found the carefully folded piece of cloth that had remained in this hidden area for the greater part of the past few months. Fortunately, moth had not gotten to the cloth as he took the folded over coat out, unfurled it, and shoved the drawer back into its western-styled housing.

With a slight flourish, he put the overcoat on, letting the sliver of moonlight hit a part of it where the blue and white color were visible – Shinsengumi Third Unit Captain Saitou Haijme was back.

He sniffed the air again – the wolves of Mibu were getting closer, and with almost everyone asleep, it would be ideal for him to position himself so that he was ready to strike when the others struck. He snatched up his swords and adjusted them so that they were sitting in the usual comfortable position against the side of his hip. Cautiously, he opened the partition to his room and peeked up and down the hallway, ensuring that there was no one present before stepping out.

His footsteps were comparatively light considering that he normally preferred not to sneak around, but if he was heard now, then he would not be able to succeed in his mission. At the end of the hallway, he turned the corner and took a few more steps before stopping in front of the partition that would lead him into a particular person’s room. He listened carefully, hearing the sound of the person snoring away in sleep, and slid the partition quietly open. Stepping in, he slid the partition closed and quietly drew his sword out and waited for the right moment to assassinate his target.

 

Outside, the pounding on the inn’s wooden door was incessant until the proprietor of the inn finally woke up and headed towards the entrance. As the proprietor unlocked the door and revealed who exactly had been pounding on the door for the better part of a few minutes, the old man’s eyes widened as he saw the angry blue-white over coated mob of people outside.

“Excuse the intrusion, but we have have received word that several members of the group known as Goryoueji had attacked one of your maids,” Kondou said. “We have come to arrest others involved with the attack.”

“W-what?” the old man fearfully said, but at the same time, Kondou’s eyes had flickered to movement beyond the old man.

“Intruders!” the samurai shouted. It was only chance that the samurai had been at that particular place, in the middle of wandering back to his room after relieving himself in the outhouse.

With that shout, all hell broke loose at the inn.  
  


Saitou had slipped into the familiar stance of his favorite attack, _Gatotsu_ , as soon as he had heard the panicked shout. He heard the rustle of a body under sheets jerk awake and sprung from the corner of the room.

_Aku. Soku. Zan_.

His attack struck true and pierced the heart of Itou Kashitarou. The man was dead and slumped against the wall even before the first partitions of those sleeping in the other quarters slid open in a loud _clack_. Not a sound had even issued out of the traitor’s lips, and as he drew out his blade, he flicked it to the ground to get rid of the blood, looking up just as the partition to the traitor’s room slid open.

The man who had opened the partition only had time to release a strangled cry of alarm before Saitou slammed into him, his sword leading the way through the man’s body. The momentum of his strike plowed both the man and him into the crowd, causing him to tumble slightly as he yanked his sword out and swung his blade backwards in vicious arc into another traitor. Using that circular movement, he brought up his outstretched right arm and clocked another rebel, knocking the man out and down. As soon as that body fell to the ground, another was taking its place and he jabbed his sword into the belly of the man.

Slightly behind him and to his left, another rebel flew backwards and past him amidst a spray of blood and he turned slightly to see who exactly had done that. He felt the corners of his lips turn up in a smirk.

“I could not let you have all the fun, Saitou-san,” Okita said, grinning slightly.

“Your _Sandanzuki_ seems to have improved, Okita,” he replied.

“As has your _Gatotsu_ ,” the young captain countered before the two of them were besieged by reinforcements or fleeing members of the traitorous rebel group.

Saitou didn’t care if they were reinforcing or fleeing – all traitors deserved to die. Both he and Okita charged, their signature moves leading the way, and together, the two made short work of the six rebels who tried to attack them.

The cramped halls of the inn were proving to be a death trap, and the rebels knew that. As soon as Saitou and Okita cut the last of the rebels in the area down, Saitou wasted no time and ran towards the sounds where the rebels were trying to stream out – to the rooftops or to the streets. He found a rather large number of rebels cramming through the entrance to the rooftops.

Fortunately, there were the three shinobi holding the tide back as best as they could, but they were only three and not trained for a protracted fight. As soon as Saitou emerged onto the rooftop, he saw that they were about to be overwhelmed – he could see that even the assassin, Matsumoto, was starting to falter, despite the numerous dead bodies that laid before her feet.

He waylaid into one of the rebels nearest to the entrance to the roof as he heard other members of the Shinsengumi pour out and reinforce the battle that was happening on the rooftop of the inn. There wasn’t even time for the first rebel he had skewered to gurgle to death before Saitou was pouncing on another and rammed his sword up and through the man’s gut, with the tip emerging out of the man’s mouth in a small fountain of blood. He flung the dead traitor to the side and continued to work his way through.

Slowly, surely, and quite methodically, the Shinsengumi turned the tide of the battle in their favor and eventually, at moonset, did the screams of the dying finally calm down to only a whisper in the cold night air.

Saitou found himself breathing rather hard, but despite the shallow cuts he had sustained in the battle, he felt _alive_. Sated with blood, sated with the death of the traitors, and of his assignment finally complete, he grimly smiled as he surveyed the carnage that had been wrought. Now was the time to clean up the bloody mess.

He called out a few of the Shinsengumi members still up on the roof, along with the three shinobi to help him start moving the bodies down. As he and one of the other members slowly trudged down the stairs and through the halls with the bodies from the rooftop, he heard the commander say, “He was supposed to be kept alive! I gave orders not to kill him!”

Glancing over the rails of the last staircase that would bring him, the dead body he was carrying, and the Shinsengumi member holding the other end of the body down to eh ground floor, he saw that Kondou was berating an unfamiliar-looking Shinsengumi member. Near the new Shinsengumi member, he saw the body of former Eighth Unit Captain with his lifeless eyes staring up – death had captured him surprised.

As the commander continued to berate the Shinsengumi regular, Saitou saw Matsumoto jump from the second floor and land lightly on the ground floor, silencing the commander as she crouched, reached out, and closed the eyes of the former Eighth Unit Captain. Moved by the simple act of kindness, the commander faltered as Matsumoto walked away, returning to her duties.

_The moron had it coming_ , he thought to himself.

 

_On suspicions (and possibly some documented proof) that Itou Kashitarou's Goryoueji group was planning to completely defect to Choshuu and Satsuma forces, the Shinsengumi raided Aburakoji and successfully killed Itou. In the ensuing fight, former Eighth Unit Captain, Toudou Heisuke, was killed by new Shinsengumi member, Miura Tsunesaburou, who had not heeded Kondou Isami's orders to not kill Toudou._

 

_Aburakoji would be the Shinsengumi's last major clash with defecting forces before the start of the Boshin War._

 

~*~*~*~


End file.
